Great Bear Live

Along a quiet part of Canada’s Pacific coast, a few hundred kilometres north of the busy streets of Vancouver, bears, moose and caribou roam in verdant rainforests that are criss-crossed by rivers in which salmon run under the watchful gaze of bald eagles. Here, in narrow, rocky ocean channels, swim endangered orcas, humpback whales and other marine mammals.

It is also here that at least 14 major industrial oil and gas projects have been proposed. If even only some of these projects were to be approved, there would be a dramatic increase in shipping traffic in the region, which has been fortunate to escape large-scale human interference until now.

This year, Diana Chan of Pacific Wild is embarking on a mission to bring this world and its whales to the public eye – literally. Her goal is to use remote HD cameras to study and highlight the Great Bear Rainforest’s cetaceans. And by live-streaming the camera feeds online, she hopes to facilitate an education programme and build strong support for the region. One camera has already been deployed, but Diana plans to set up many more. Keep an eye on pacificwild.org!

Cover image

Photo by Ian McAllister - Pacific Wild

Whale Haven: Looking across the foreshore of Campania Island at the many whale spouts hanging in the air, I am reminded of how our conservation work is guided by field seasons - fall’s great salmon migration, cold and clear wintertime diving, spring herring spawn and, come summer, it is all about cetaceans.

Whale Haven: Looking across the foreshore of Campania Island at the many whale spouts hanging in the air, I am reminded of how our conservation work is guided by field seasons - fall’s great salmon migration, cold and clear wintertime diving, spring herring spawn and, come summer, it is all about cetaceans.

Cetaceans of the Great Bear Rainforest: The proposal to move oil from the Alberta tarsands through the Great Bear Rainforest is more than damaging.

Cetaceans of the Great Bear Rainforest: The proposal to move oil from the Alberta tarsands through the Great Bear Rainforest is more than damaging.

Project

Great Bear LIVE

The Great Bear Rainforest, one of the planet’s few remaining wilderness areas, is frequented by an abundance of marine mammals. Diana wants to share this unique place with the world by live-streaming video from underwater cameras.